Mobile device boom no threat to movie theatre growth: Imax CEO

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - People will always want to watch movies in theatres despite the growing trend of watching videos at home and on mobile devices, the head of giant movie system maker Imax said.

A close up of one of two IMAX cameras is seen at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington April 4, 2012. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

“People are social animals and I don’t think they want to be chained to their couches, mobile devices and tablets. They want to go out,” Richard Gelfond, chief executive of Canada-based Imax, told the annual President’s Conference in Israel on Thursday.

“They recognize the fact that (filmmakers) Steven Spielberg and James Cameron may be better at telling a story than a 16 year old over the Internet. I think they can exist side by side.”

Special effects-driven movies, in particular, “cannot be adequately captured” on a mobile device, Gelfond said.

“You need to go to a theatre to appreciate them. If you are going to leave home you want a dramatically different experience than in the home.”

Imax also designs and manufactures theatre systems and then sells or leases them under revenue-sharing arrangements. It has more than 738 theatres in 53 countries.